they are reminding you how important it is to donate your organs and think about getting online and registering. they provided these ties and also the scarves. we've also got a cape in the newsroom. when they bring that out a little bit later this morning. it's all a reminder of the importance of organ donation, something you may want to consider. let's get a check on your weather. gorgeous day yesterday. here's meteorologist lynette charles to let us know if we can get it on a repeat. >> i know you wish you could have it. but we do have more clouds out there this morning and they'll stick around even as we go into the afternoon. we will have a few peeks of some sunshine, but this morning, maybe a few showers, unseasonably mild temperatures, a far cry from what we had yesterday morning. but maryland's most powerful radar is basically dry right now. we have one lone little shower

in between rising sun and delta as of now, but all in all we are pretty much dry. temperatures are mild this morning. check out the 50s in centreville. good morning. good morning, colombia, you're right around 52 degrees. let's get a check now of that traffic with angela. good morning. how are those roads looking? reporter: good morning, lynette. roads are in great shape. as a matter of fact, we haven't found any incidents around the beltway. also a quick mta update, got a few scattered bus delays, but all rail services moving on time for those of you who choose mta this morning. in the meantime, let's go ahead and get a live look at what you can expect around 695. your drive right now around the beltway including the north side pretty good shape as you travel along hartford road with a live view on the north side and moving over to i-97, all lanes are open. no accidents to report for your drive from annapolis on i-97 continuing through glen burnie as you make your way to the 895/695 split. megan, back over to you. >> angela, thanks. in this morning's health alert this morning, there is widespread salmonella outbreak to tell you about right now.

abc 2 new health reporter linda stow is standing by with all new information that came in overnight. linda, what's going on? reporter: megan, we learned the salmonella outbreak is making a number of people sick, including right here in maryland. government health officials believe the outbreak is link today spicy tuna rolls. investigators are trying to pinpoint the exact source. right now they're focusing on six clusters of restaurants in maryland, texas, wisconsin, rhode island and connecticut. but the specific restaurants haven't been named yet. at least seven people have been hospitalized, no deaths have been reported. but officials say the outbreak is growing rapidly. at least 90 people in 19 states, including d.c. have gotten sick. the most common symptoms of salmonella poisoning are diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever. the illness can be life threatening for people with weakened immune systems. right now the fda is working with the cdc and state officials to pinpoint the exact source. the cases were first reported in late february and continue to grow. again, that likely source from spicy tuna roll sushi.

linda stow, abc 2 news. and all new this morning, more charges have been filed against a college park student who warned on websites he was going on a rampage. 19-year-old alexander song is now charged with misuse of e- mail, disturbing the peace and other offenses. song is barred from campus but is not behind bars. last month he warned on a website that he would kill a number of people on campus. people saw those postings and immediately called police. a glen burnie man is now recovering after he was beaten by at least 10 teens and police are continuing to search for suspects this morning. it all happened outside the seasons pizza shop in the 5500 block of ritchie highway. the man was take ago smoke break when police say 16-year- old shaquille johnson approached him, asking for a cigarette. when he refused, police say johnson picked up a piece of wood and hit him. then about 10 other teens jumped in on the man. he was beaten but is doing okay this morning according to reports. police hope surveillance video will help the public lead them to additional suspects. police in south baltimore right now are searching for a

suspect in a sexual assault at riverside park over the weekend. the park is on rand dll all street. police say that it happened around 1:00 in the morning on sunday. police tell us that a woman was approached by a man in the 1800 block of johnson street. he asked her for some money and then police say he assaulted her. she was able to fight back and get away. if you have any information, you're asked to call baltimore city police. talson university is all lit up just to remember the students who died over the weekend. nearly 1,000 students showed up to remember 20-year-old ryan bailey and 27-year-old timothy coyier. both were fraternity members. bailey was killed by a hit-and- run driver early saturday morning. coyier died in his apartment of an apparent heart condition. he served in the army national guard, being deployed twice to iraq. baltimore county police right now still looking for the driver who killed bailey. news time now 5:34. in news around the nation, today the suspect in a mass shooting at a small college in oakland, california will be arraigned. juan goh is is scheduled to go

before a judge today. last night mourners packed church pews at a memorial service for the seven victims. the accused shooter told police he was upset about being expelled from that school. the police chief says the 43- year-old former student at that college does not appear to be remorseful at all. and today five former new orleans police officers will be sentenced. they were convicted over the summer in a shooting of six unarmed civilians at the danzinger bridge after hurricane katrina. two of those people died. the fire department group walking across the bridge looking for safe haven after the hurricane. prosecutors allege there was an effort to cover up those shootings which included false reports and madeup witnesses. this story really tugs at your heart strings. firefighters rushed to a burning home in new jersey and had to save 15 puppies that were trapped inside. firefighters removed each puppy from the basement of the smoky home and they administered oxygen to each one of them. the puppies were taken to a

local veterinarian's office to be checked out. no word this morning on what caused that fire. on this day in history, back in 1968, civil rights leader and nobel peace prize winner martin luther king, jr. was assassinated. he was gunned down on a balcony of a motel in memphis, tennessee. dr. king at the time was 39 years old. james earl ray who was charged with the crime ended up dying in prison. on this the 44th anniversary of the civil rights leader's death, memphis will rename a one-mile stretch. the governor named that the martin luther king, jr. avenue. this is the road. there's also going to be a day of services across the country honoring dr. king. another week, another round of eliminations on "dancing with the stars." >> yeah. we're going to tell you who went home in case you missed it. also new rules that could help good dancers stick around a little longer. and which pop icon says she is honored to play whitney houston. we'll tell you about that coming up next. mostly cloudy around now, there are some showers working

their way in here. i'll tell you when coming up. reporter: on the roadways this morning, pretty quiet out there. we'll is have a live look at i- 95 heading towards the capitol beltway. that's coming up next. ñ[=

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. 5:39 right now. another pair on "dancing with the stars," they've been given the boot and there are new rules going into effect. but first the couple that was eliminated. >> jack and anna. >> jack wagner and his dance partner anna. you heard it, they got the ax. singer gavin degraw will dance another week. after next week and the next three weeks after that, the judges now will get their final say. it's to keep good dancers with the small fan bases from getting booted off the show too soon. so who would you choose to portray whitney houston in a movie? there's now one pop icon who think she's the right fit for the part. rihanna says she would be honored if chosen to play houston in the upcoming film about the late singer's life. other stars being considered for the role is jennifer hudson and vivca fox. no word on when production of that film will start.

levi johnston, remember him? he's going to be a daddy once again. the 25-year-old father of bristol palin's child now having a child with another woman. johnson says he's looking forward to starting a family with his 20-year-old girlfriend. he tells tmz the baby is an unexpected surprise. coming up incredible pictures of that tornado that touched down in texas. >> coming up major damage in that area and proof of just how powerful these tornadoic winds can be. also this morning, remembering and learning from the death of trayvon martin. when and where a vigil is planned tonight. and as we go to break this morning, that's a live look of dallas, texas. some of the damage you can see just through the lights of those television live crews. more of "good morning maryland" continues in just a few minutes. [ female announcer ] what would you call an ordinary breakfast pastry

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welcome back. maryland's legislative session lasts a total of 90 days, although work is done throughout the entire session, many in annapolis say there will be more work done this week than at all. abc 2 news' sherree johnson is here with all new reaction of what some are calling now a last minute scramble. sheree. reporter: yes, charley, all new reaction from the governor. in less than a week lawmakers will wrap up maryland's 438th legislative session. there's still a lot of wok on

the table. so far 59 bills have passed. this is compared to 700 to 800 bills each session for the last three years. some big items? deciding whether the state should add table games to slot parlors and how to deal with the recent federal judge ruling that says maryland's right to carry a firearm law is unconstitutional. one of est items, the $1 billion gap in the budget and possibility of raising taxes. we have all new reaction from governor martin o'malley on this issue. >> i think there's room for compromise and room to meet in the middle and get on with the other important business of the session. the clock is ticking, there's a limited amount of time left and i hope that the senate and the house conferrees will come to some reasonable balance and accommodation so woo can move forward. reporter: no one is sure how many bills will get passed before the end of the session. one thing is for sure lawmakers will be very busy until monday night. megan, back to you. >> sherree, thanks. today a bill modifying a law that allows maryland prisoners to suspend their

child support payments is is scheduled for a final vote in the state senate. prisoners can already apply for a waiver because they have no income while they're incarcerated. opponents say it is unfair that criminals are still held to other debts, but they're allowed to walk away from their child support payments. others say that mounting debt of missed payments make it less likely that someone will return to paying regularly once he is released. baltimore city police commissioner fredrick bealefeld will participate in a news conference to raise awareness about child abuse. fight crime, invest in kids will issue a report showing that 13,000 children in the state of maryland suffered abuse or neglect from 2010. the commissioner will support a voluntary home visiting service which helps new parents cope with the stresses of raising a young child. this they say can help prevent child abuse as well as neglect. democratic leader nancy pelosi delivering a keynote address tonight at the baltimore labor organization dinner. the theme of that dinner is

welcome home nancy because pelosi is a native of baltimore, little italy community. more than 500 people from different labor and business communities will be in attendance for that. several elected leaders will also be at that dinner. university of maryland is now holding a discussion tonight about the trayvon martin case. it's called "trayvon: tragedies and traumas of everyday." students staff and community are invited to attend to talk about the death of martin and its aftermath. speakers will touch on topics like racial profiling, violence, gun laws and more. the forum starts at 6:00 at the biosciences research building. 5:47 right now. some sports news for you this morning. games played in japan today, it's opening day for the 2012 baseball season. the miami marlins opened their new stadium hosting the st. louis cardinals. first pitch is is at 7:05. if you haven't heard, the orioles open their season this friday against the minnesota twins, first pitch 3:05. speaking of the orioles, if you want to support the team

wherever you go, why not get a customized license plate? the state has started selling baltimore orioles-themed license plates, including the bird logo. the plates cost about $50 with $25 going to the orioles charitable arm. the plates will have a rand omly assigned four-digit number and you can get them at the mva. the lady bears have capped off history. 40-0 for their season. they won last night the ncaa championship. the lady bears beat notre dame 80-61. they are now just the seventh woman's team to run through a season unbeaten and the first in ncaa history to win 40 games total. happening today, colorado state university is is going to release its 2012 hurricane season forecast and researchers are predicting that this season is going to be less active than average. now, the report will also include predictions for the number of named storms and how many will become hurricanes or major hurricanes. hurricane season runs from june 1st to november 30th. let's take a look at this photograph for you showing just

how strong these texas tornadoes have been. what you're seeing, you see that rectangle there, the dark rectangle? that is a tractor-trailer being tossed around like a toy in dallas county. widespread damage, but so far no reports of significant injury. all flights at the dfw airport have been grounded. passengers and airport employees have also been moved into shelters. time now for a check of the forecast a little closer to home. here's lynette. >> you know, charley, looking at that photograph there, putting things into perspective of how powerful that tornado was, those tractor-trailers are 30,000 pounds. so, wow, that's all i can say. i usually see them banged up against each other, but to be thrown and strewn across the area like that, that's just remarkable. so we're looking at the satellite and radar now and luckily texas is out of that severe weather threat for today. but it is starting to slide off towards the east. so some severe weather already popping up in louisiana and also mississippi and the threat will just push further towards the east. so the carolinas are going to get in on that action for today

as well as the virginias. luckily, though, we won't see any type of severe weather. the only thing we're dealing with as of now is just a lot of cloud cover across the area. maybe an isolated shower, a stray shower to stream through this morning, maybe even this afternoon, but all in all mainly dry with a few peeks of some sunshine. right now temperature coming in at 47 degrees in baltimore, 46 in easton, 50 in hagerstown and also in york, pennsylvania. 54 in winchester and culpepper right around 48 degrees. as you step out and about today, you could take the umbrella with you because you could be one of the unlucky ones or the lucky ones if you want the rain that could come down on you as we go through the afternoon frame. we're waiting for this cold front to pass through. it will do so as we go into the afternoon. and with that, that's why i'm keeping the chance for showers in here as we go through the afternoon. but lots of sunshine returns as we go into thursday and friday and also a cooldown is on tap for us, but not for today. hour by hour that temperature coming in right around 72 degrees by 4:00 p.m.

and your seven-day forecast, that's when you'll see that cooldown here. as we look at 60 degrees as we go into thursday, opening day, remarkable, 61 degrees there. and then we're looking pretty good as we go into easter sunday. let's get a check now of that traffic with angela. how are the roads looking? are they pretty good? reporter: looking pretty good. as a matter of fact, we are starting to build just a little bit. had a look at the northwest expressway as well as the harrisburg expressway, but nothing to slow you down in terms of accidents or delays. as you make your way to the beltway this morning. in the meantime, traveling on i- 95, looking like a fantastic commute for you, starting to build in the southbound direction on 95 as you head towards the beltway, 695 on the southwest side, and not a lot of difficulty coming in southbound 95 from the joppa town region. you do have a lot more folks joining that southbound side, but it's still rolling along at posted speed. megan, back over to you. >> thanks. coming up this morning the debate over the death penalty continues this morning in the state of connecticut. >> an important vote coming today that could be changing sentencing in that state. also ahead this morning,

easter is this sunday. what the president and first lady are going to do to celebrate.

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a hearing set for today involving alleged fort hood shooter nidal hasan. hasan faces the death penalty for 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of premeditated murder. robert champion will hold a press conference today in atlanta talking about updates, the investigation into the hazing death of their son. robert champion, jr. died after what's being called a hazing incident after a florida atlantic university football game in november. his death was ruled a homicide. the connecticut senate could vote today to repeal the state's death penalty. should the measure pass, it would then go to the statehouse. the governor says he'll sign the bill, making connecticut the fifth state in five years to abolish capital punishment. the president will host an easter prayer breakfast at the white house today. mr. obama will be joined by christian leaders from across the u.s. the president is also expected to sign a bill today regarding insider trading by

congressional members. first lady michelle obama will be visiting walter reed national military medical center for a preeaster with military families and their children. later she'll visit the wounded warriors being cared for at the center. stay teuped, there's such an uproar over the pink slime beef filler. >> now the government is taking action to make it easier for you to know if your package or that package of ground beef contains the pink slime. batman, we go behind the mask of the man pulled over in montgomery county and his real- life superhero mission. also a student at the university of michigan is now suing her school to keep her furry friend in her dorm room. >> we have lots of clouds around and a stray shower is possible. when will we see the sunshine again? we'll have those details coming up. reporter: as we get closer to 6:00, traffic patterns starting to increase. we'll let you know where you can find delays on your wednesday morning drive.

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